The New Punishments of the Old Inferno
by Korra-kin
Summary: Ok so I'm a fan of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. For those who don't know it is a political type story of his journey through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven, I started Hell and have been working on it for like eeeeeeever. Hope you like it. I tried making it as gruesome as possible, and probably will as it progresses. Enjoy. I do not own the rights to the Divine Comedy.
1. Canto 1 to 3: The Entrance

**Canto 1**

As once did Dante who mapped the Inferno

In the mid point of the journey of my life

I stumbled from the straight path

Lost was I once in the city which I resided

And into a forest I walked into

No lights illuminated my way

I decided to turn back

But behold I saw a dog

A ferocious looking beast with insanity in its eyes

So I turned to another path for safety

Yet stopped was I by a wolf

Another path and by a cougar

So I ran into a hole within the rocks

Not a hole but apparently a cave,

Not rocks but what seemed to be a mountain

So I hid until the path was clear, but the beasts did not move

Exploring I into the cave I came across a man

"Are you lost by means of your home"

And I "yes, is there no other way?"

"I know of a path which has been crossed two times

Once on an errand and another by redemption"

I responded "Will you take me? Please, I grow tired"

He said "If I take you, you must put aside all fear,

For this is not a place for cowards to cross, prepare your soul,

Prepare your body, and follow me down here"

So I followed, looking back only once, and having to trust him

Yet I stayed on guard for I felt the oddest presence.

**Canto 2**

As we went further into the cave,

All light had gone from us

It was as though God had forsaken us

It was as though we had gone to the abyssal ocean

Where no light reaches anymore

I feared taking another step, so I stride slowly on the ground

"Who are you?" I asked

"I am a renowned poet, I was sent unto you by favor of love,

Know this, there is one above who loves you,

Though she shall remain unknown,

She prayed to your God, who sent Michael to look for me,

From the blessed mountain where souls find penance,

For it is because I know the path I take you on

That I have been chosen as your guide" he responded

I said "Love I do not believe in as much as before,

I have no reason to believe in it, but for God is the only Love,

Yet I feel myself slowly loosing myself from Him,

What is your name?"

"I am virgil who lived under the time of the false gods,

So I never knew what the eternal light was like,

Until I was called upon to lead Dante himself"

"Do you mean the Dante Alighieri who went through the inferno?

Who witnessed the torments of hell?"

"The very same. Now quickly we must make haste

To reach the other side"

**Canto 3**

As I went through the tunnels and out the other side

There was a forest full of dead and smoking trees

Many stumps laid there and burnt carcasses of animals

Then I heard a crowd passing by, crying frantically

Yelling they passed by chasing a red band and stung by hornets

They stumbled onto each other, tripping and pushing

And when one caught the band another appeared and he let go

And pursued the other leaving behind the old

My guide explained "Behold the first of the new punishments, this is not hell

This is a barren place where those who did not decide reside.

They chase pointless things, and when they get them

They leave it for another, pushing others out of their way to get it,

For they realize that their ambitions were hollow.

They could not decide what was for them, so they wander here

Running with no cause or hope of rest for they are chasing and are being chased"

We walked until we reached a cliff, of which I hear laments,

My heart sank and my knees locked in place,

"Virgil you cannot expect me to go down there"  
and he said "if you ever wish to reach holiness you must"

With much worry on my face we climbed down

Until we reached the bottom

And near the bottom was a river as black as oil

"Here is the river Acheron, before it was only filthy,

But because of the greed of man it has been tainted further,

Notice the dead animals that reside in it,

Forever a reminder of what greed has caused,

And here Charon, the one who will help us cross,

The damned refuse to accept their fate,

For although their minds refuse, their feet are forced onward

For their feet are designed to accept their punishments

Not their uneased heads.

As for Charon, he is constantly fatigued by the oncoming souls

who by the thousands come in

his boat is a vessel, and his eyes grow lower

representing the weight of the sins of those he crosses"

I looked upon Charon, who looked fatigued

"You there, stand aside from those who are damned,

Virgil unless his soul is as tainted as this river,

He may not pass, for I once let one of yours pass,

And until now I wonder what became of his soul,

Whom I feel was unjustly passed through"

And my guide "Charon I bring another,

Who by Love's grace God has chosen to save,

Let us pass, and to ease your pain,

The other soul was saved"

And Charon, "Very well, young soul know this,

What you see here you will never unsee

Lest by divine favor you shall forget through disease,

Now onward to the final crossing and unto the abyss."


	2. Canto 4 to 6: Limbo

**Canto 4**

"Through me is the way to the doleful city,

Through me is the way to eternal dole.

Created was I for cause of justice,

When justice left their cause.

Divine will always be my Creator,

My Creator made me for those of swine.

Love only existed before me

And in me none will be found

Abandon all bit of hope, ye who will suffer here"

I saw these words,

Which were different from Dante's rendition.

The river ran through dark caverns and lonely banks.

Charon paddled on, only one man for a giant vessel.

Yet it moved, and the damned around me did too,

Yelling blasphemies and cursing their very births.

"Be ready for we are about to reach shore" yelled Charon.

Then the boat trembled and shook

As if God grabbed it himself

Many fell to the floor as I did.

"Come young soul we must go to the first circle" urged Virgil

"Here is the first circle Limbo, for you are aware.

Here are those who although were righteous

Did not share in the same faith as we did in Jesus Christ.

Here in the plains they feel no other suffering but the absence of God."

As I looked on I saw a line of young souls, infants. And I said,

"Virgil are those the un baptized babies for which Dante originally spoke?

Why are they aligned at the creek there?"

And he responded, "God has taken pity upon those who could not choose,

It is not just for them to suffer here if they could not be blessed,

So they go into the creak one by one and touch the water,

This is as far as any remnant of holiness will reach, for although it is hell

It is not as accursed as the rest, and therefore God left for them this.

When they reach the water they will play in it and be sent above.

Rejoice for God has shown his mercy on them"

And I, "and these they seem unhappy yet satisfied,

Will they ever reach eternity on high"  
and He, "With each passing moment that goes on they think,

But do not know why they feel such anguish,

They do not know that it is God that they lack in their lives,

So upon their ignorance they will wander on slowly."

"Sir what awaits us beyond that great wall there"

"There is my old home, where many intellects lay,

But we shall not pass there, quickly let us proceed"

**Canto 5**

Walking I heard a loud voice yelling many sins,

And we walked into a great courtroom,

With a giant man, though not man but serpent.

His finger tips opened like hungry snakes

Grabbing at the sinners by the many

The sinners were aligned one by one.

The man's skin was scaly

His eyes were missing

His presence disturbing

As he grabbed the sinners he sniffed them

Then yelled out their crime.

"Here is the fallen King what he does.

He sniffs them and calls out their place in hell.

Though many of them have committed many sins

They are judged by the sin which ruined their lives most.

When that sin is said, they grow heavy like weights

And that weight lets them land in their respectable punishment

As he throws them over the ledge to the other circles."

At that I asked, "why do these people not run?

There are so many to overthrow him?"

He responded "there is nowhere to go,

If they go to the Acheron they will disappear from existence

A fate worse than this, never to be remembered, even on earth.

They do not even have the will, because they are driven by divine justice

That they be punished like the dogs they were.

Now move on"

At that King Minos turned towards us

"Virgil, I see you bring another still breathing.

But I thought you were excused from my reign"

And Virgil, "That I am, but another has been willed,

Let us pass Minos, I must let this one through"

Minos, "Very well, but let me warn you Virgil,

The inferno has changed much since you have parted,

Maybe it is best if he gathers his will"

So we passed,

Into the fire, into the cold

**Canto 6 **

Minos was right

I should have gathered my will

For once he opened the door

I heard the wailing of infinite souls

So loud so lamenting

I closed my ears

Every cry for help

Every cry for mercy

Brought a tear into my eye

We walked down a road

And to my amazement

There were souls on the wall of the cliff

Leading down the second circle

They either reached for me

Or attempted to pull out of their heavy prison

Virgil explained:

"these souls are those who attempted to escape death.

With their potions and their spells they did everything possible

To escape the inevitable. Now the weight of the life they wanted

Crushes them as well as the weight of the lives they had"

All I did was watch in awe while my hands covered my ears

Finally we came across a gate


	3. Canto 7: Lust

**Canto 7**

The pillars were made of statues

Both resembling male genitelia

With snakes pouring out of the tips

And the gate itself resembled a female genitalia

Looking worn out and used

"Here we must cross

Beyond here lies the realm of the lustful

Fornicators and those who let their urges speak

But not their morality.

It has changed greatly since I last came

But I was able to see all the changes in their horrific states"

I responded "does this involve those who in love

Chose to express it through making love?"

He responded "no, they are not

But there are those who misunderstood love and lust

And in love with lust they condemned themselves here.

Those who never lost respect for one another

Were given another chance.

But times in the living world have changed

Though sex has always been a part of life

Whether mature or immature

It wasn't until your generation that sex was placed on a high pedestal

So revered like a god by media and foolishness

Think if you will the pressure a virgin endures

When he hears of it so much

Eventually he caves into desire and feels a need to continue

The living world forgets that there are more important things"

I stopped to reflect his words in the storm of screams

I asked

"what suffering do they endure?"

"before these people were blown in a tempest

separated from past lovers.

Now blown by new winds

Blown from the winds of north south east and west.

On the north is the winds blowing at the lovers who put lust before love

On the South are the promiscuous peoples

ON the west are the adulterers with their lovers

ON the east are those who let pornography run their lives"

At shock I asked

"there is such a punishment?"

He said

"oh yes indeed,

It is a tool now so easily accessible

That it gives false hopes and expectations

The promiscuous and these people are blown by the winds alone

So their tears also freeze their eylids shut

For keeping their eyes closed to true love

And the sexual couples and adulterers are sown together

Forever facing each other and hating each other

As a sign as to how they betrayed love"

The winds were cold

Yet somehow despite their intensity I stayed firm on the ground

"I see you are surprised that you stay on land.

You are living hence these winds cannot affect you.

Even if you were dead,

a pure soul would not be blown away by his sins

come let us go on"


	4. Canto 8: Gluttony

**canto 8**

We walked down a path

And as we walked I noticed the walls were getting moist

And the people stuck on the walls were covered in it

As we further walked the walls became softer

The dim light revealed that the walls were not stone

They were human insides

The souls in the wall were now between nawing teeth

I backed away as I saw this

I almost heaved

Yet oddly enough

The place smelled like well prepared food

Like fattening fast food

I asked

"Virgil where are we?

What new sufferings do I have to see?"  
he answered,

"Here is the realm of the gluttons

Here is the people who stuffed their faces

Even though they needed no more.

Those who threw away food

Even though they had more than enough to save or give.

Observe the environment"

I looked around

I almost fainted

It was like being in a human body

Or many bodies whos intrails were splattered out,

Random mouths on the walls

Eyes looking at me

A disturbing site,

And in the middle of this wretched place I saw people attacking each other

Not just attacking but eating each other

Virgil spoke,

"as you can see they eat each other in a fray

For they each emit an aroma so tempting they wish to eat it.

They eat and are eaten

And they release each other through their feces

And through the feces they are born again

To restart the vicious cycle"

A disturbing sight indeed

The very ground they walked was covered in filth

And they frenzied at each other like sharks

and the yells of being eaten

were as though they were choking on food itself

and behold the beast Cerberus approached me

angry and with hunger

"do not worry" said the poet,

"he is harmless

He only eats that off the walls that resemble human entrails.

And upon the souls who attempt freedom"  
I asked,

"what happens to those who get eaten do they return"

"neigh, once they enter into cerberus' stomach

They are damned to forever disintegrate in his acid,

And once the acid has finished them they become no more

As if the soul never existed,

Can you imagine such a fate?"

My heart sank at this and we moved on


End file.
